Isles Inc. renovating old Johnston mill

By
Megan Goldschmidt, The Trentonian

Sunday, August 25, 2013

HAMILTON— Crackling lead paint, shattered windows, creaking hardwood floors, and overgrown grass in the gravel parking lot. To most, 1 North Johnston Drive looks like just another abandoned building on the Trenton-Hamilton border.

But in David Schrayer’s mind, the old mill holds art studios, classrooms, lofts, and more. Schrayer sees Mill One; a self-sustaining community center that will rejuvenate the old building and provide much needed resources to the Hamilton community.

In 2006, Isles Inc. and Modern Recycled Spaces came together to develop a plan for the property. The project will transform the 240,000 square foot shell of a mill into a sustainable urban village.

HistoryA description of the mill’s history appears on Mill One’s website.

“In 1895, architect William Poland designed a shirt mill for the Rothschild Company at One North Johnston Avenue. Located just minutes from downtown Trenton by trolley and adjoining the important Pennsylvania Railroad Line, the building was sold in 1907 to Ferdinand Straus Woolen Mills and expanded. The Atlantic Products Corporation bought the mill in 1931 and began manufacturing golf bags, and then luggage. The site returned to clothing production in 1967, and later housed a roofing company and a producer of Christmas novelty items and outdoor furniture. In the early 1980’s the historic building began deteriorating. In 2006, Isles Inc. teamed up with Modern Recycled Spaces to build Mill One.”

In 2008, Princeton University’s Department of Engineering led the rebuilding of the factory’s 1895-era mechanical clock and developed a course through which students worked alongside the Isles design team to explore potential sustainable design elements of the mill restoration.

Different hubsThe building will be home to a number of vital community services. According to Schrayer, it will serve as an arts hub, business hub, and training center. Mill One will also hold about 45 apartment lofts, neighborhood retail shops and a café.

“We are hoping to go in front of the planning board for site plan approval for phase one this fall,” Schrayer said, “We hope to start the project starting construction beginning in 2014. The whole thing is going to be built in phases. Once one part of the construction is done, it will be opened as the next phase starts. We won’t wait to open the entire mill until the whole thing is completed.”

The phase of renovation that will start in 2014 includes A and A1, or what Schrayer points to as the right most side of the mill, closest to North Johnston Ave.

“Building A includes Isles offices, which we are just getting down in drawings now. There will be a new green roof system and a photovoltaic electronic generator for A and A1. The costs for the roofs and stabilization alone will be around three million dollars,” Schrayer said.

Original wooden pillars divide the cavernous floors in A and A1, while cut-up panel windows line the walls and staircases. According to Schrayer, they are going to try and maintain the original integrity of the building, including buying windows similar to the originals with a touch of modernity.

Schrayer said the third floor of building A will be used as classroom and exhibition space.

“For now the classes will be arts oriented and it will evolve over time. The idea is to create space that is not currently available to nonprofits and let them use it in a flexible way. It’s a big space that they can rent and use for one or two months while completing a project,” Schrayer said.

The café and retail shops will be located on the first floor of A1, because according to Schrayer, it’s the only real ground floor space that is left.

The middle part of the mill, which Schrayer calls A2, is the oldest part of the building and slated for residential use.

“We are just now working on the price for those apartments and how it’s all going to work,” the director said, “We do have some promises from Hamilton Township on letting us use some of their housing trust fund monies which were set aside to produce affordable housing.”

Apartments will range from studios to one and two bedrooms. While it’s not an ideal floor plan, according to Schrayer, about 45 apartments will be designed to fit in the space.

On the floors where the apartments will go in, a set of transom windows in the ceiling showcase the beauty of the original design and provide natural light. Schrayer said great features like that are what he wants to keep in the new designs.

While there are no tenants signing leases on the spaces yet, Schrayer said Isles is talking to people all the time about commitments.

SustainabilityConstruction and renovation will take some time, but Schrayer is hopeful that it will be less than 10 years until Mill One is a self-sustaining mini village.

“We want to see this village that people are drawn to because they live here, work here, or get a bite to eat here. It’s also to improve the general neighborhood; we want it to act a stabilizing force for Bromley and something the community members can take advantage of,” Schrayer said.

Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede said Isles Inc. is doing a great thing by taking a vacant building and filling it. She said it might deter from any illegal activity going on in the building and it also makes the building viable, which is a win-win for the community.

Schrayer said that the building is located strategically near public transit, and that the bus system runs right by the mill. The Grounds for Sculpture are nearby, providing a garden space for tenants to visit. Schrayer said there may be some garden habitat on property, but with such a large building they need to utilize a lot of land for parking.

While the building won’t be LEED certified, Schrayer said they are doing whatever they can to lessen the building’s impact of use.

Mill One will create numerous jobs, according to Schrayer.

“All of the jobs oriented with the office space that will be created on two floors, and whatever incidental use to the arts space will create more jobs. We will also have the retail jobs and café, so jobs will be created through those.

While renovations haven’t started quite yet, just the way Schrayer looks at the building conveys how he sees past the bare bones structure.

“I never get tired of coming over here and looking around,” Schrayer said.